


Good Things

by Ebhenah



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputee Shiro (Voltron), Cosplay, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Makers, Mentions of previous accident/injury for Shiro, Mentions of previous surgeries for Shiro, Mentions of prosthetics and physical therapy for Shiro, Multi, POV Lance (Voltron), Polyamory, VLD Polyship Valentine's Exchange 2019, Voltron Polyamory Exchange, established Shiro/Allura/Lance, polyship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 03:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18241898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: Being part of a trio sounds way more exotic and scandalous than it really is. Lance is very happy with his life. He lives with his very hot boyfriend and equally hot girlfriend; runs a business with his best friend that lets him fly and jump out of planes; and has hobbies and friends he loves. Really, when the biggest complaint you have about your life is that your partners work too hard sometimes, things couldn't really get much better. Right?





	Good Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crafty-Scrafty (xLindziex)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLindziex/gifts).



> A Pinch Hit Story for Crafty-Scrafty as part of the Voltron Polyamory Valentine's Exchange. I hope you like it!

Always the first one to bed and the first one awake- especially at this time of the year- this morning Lance had woken earlier than usual. He had spent a few minutes basking in the warm tangle of limbs before slowly, gingerly squirming out of the bed. Once he’d started the coffee and put tea on to brew, he set about making breakfast and packing up lunch bags for the day. By the time he was pouring coffee into the reusable mugs, the shower was running.  A quick glance at the clock told him they were right on schedule. He filled a cup with tea, adding 2 sugar cubes and a splash of cashew milk. As he tapped the spoon against the side, he heard Takashi yawn and settle onto one of the four stools that nestled under the kitchen island. “Morning, love,” he cooed, handing over the tea.

Barely awake, hardly aware of what was going on around him, still, he didn’t even hesitate to sip the steaming liquid. They’d been doing this so long, he had complete faith that the tea was the perfect temperature. “Morning,” he answered blearily, “smells good in here. You cooked?”

“Mmmhmm… breakfast and lunch.” Lance replied, setting a plate onto the island, “because if I didn’t you’d skip breakfast and grab something ridiculous for lunch. Spanish omelet, hashbrowns and sausage. Eat up.”

“Ridiculous?” Takashi arched one white brow skeptically, “I think that is pushing it… but this looks delicious.”

“Three days ago your lunch was a packet of microwave popcorn, a bag of beef jerky, and for some reason, a TOMATO! Who does that, babe?!?! No one. No one does that. It’s ridiculous!”

At least, he had the decency to blush, “okay, you’ve got me there. That was a weird day.”

“Mmmhmm… I get how busy you are, and this is my slow season, so I can cook. Not a biggie. Just eat, though, alright? I worry.”

“Alright, I’ll eat,” he said catching Lance by the wrist and tugging him close. “You’re too good to us,” Takashi whispered, kissing him softly. “Thank-you.”

“Stop it, I’m not- and you are welcome,” Lance whispered back, threading his fingers through the bed-mussed white hair. “Eat. I still have stuff to do.”

“Fine,” he released Lance with a playful eye roll, turning his attention to the food.

Lance busied himself with making up two more plates- tucking them into the warm oven so they didn’t get cold. By the time he was filling Tupperware with rice and beans, the water shut off in the bathroom. He poured out another tea, setting the cup on the island beside Takashi. “What time did you guys finally join me last night?”

“Umm… one-thirty-ish?” Answered Takashi, which meant at least two am- but Lance knew not to scold or nag. It was just the nature of the job, not a personal slight, and he knew they knew his opinion on the whole thing. “Con season is coming.”

But, see, THAT bugged him- the whole ‘con season’ justification. Because there was no such thing. Once upon a time, sure. But now? Now, there were cons all over the world happening year round. Takashi and Allura’s cosplay prop-making business, ‘The Princess and the Paladin’, shipped everywhere, meaning orders swamped them most of the time. So, yes, TECHNICALLY there were a couple of particularly popular conventions coming up in their area and that meant a slight uptick in last-minute requests for props. That was true, but it wasn’t like it used to be and it bugged him that they both acted like the ‘crunch’ was ever going to ‘uncrunch’. It was obvious to him that they worked too hard, and they needed more staff. Unfortunately, they were both perfectionist control freaks about anything that represented the company to let anyone but the two of them touch any of their products. It was an ongoing argument and one he didn’t want to resurrect at the breakfast table.

“Good morning,” Allura said cheerfully. Even as she was taking her seat and curling into Takashi’s side, she was bestowing kisses. For Takashi, one on the cheek and for Lance, a quick peck on the lips. “You made us breakfast sweetie?”

“Yeah, I woke up early, so I had time to cook.” Setting her plate next to her teacup, he said, “so you get at least one hot, home cooked meal today.”

“No classes this morning?” she asked. “It’s Tuesday, you usually have classes…”

He shook his head, adding tubs of yogurt to his and Allura’s lunches and applesauce to Takashi’s, “wind warning in effect. So, no skydiving today- and it’s Keith’s week to handle the on-ground classes. I don’t have to be at work until ten.” Done with packing up the food for later, he grabbed his own plate and the last of the green tea and joined them at the island. “Oh, you’re wearing it.”

“The robe?” Allura laughed, glancing down at the simple cotton robe he’d surprised her with the week before. It was the first time he’d seen her wear it. “Yes, I am. It really is quite lovely and comfortable. I didn’t think I would like the pink, but I do.”

“You look beautiful,” he assured her.

“He’s right,” Takashi added, “it looks great on you. That shade of pink works so nicely with your dark skin and pale hair and eyes. Excellent choice, Lance.”

“Given how fussy you are about color palettes, I know that is high praise,” he laughed munching on a hashbrown.

“This omelet is tasty,” Allura said with a soft smile. “Better than I could make.”

“Mmm… I remember how many takeout menus covered that fridge when I moved in here. That doesn’t give me as much of a rush as Takashi’s compliment, darling,” Lance teased.

They’d all been living together for just shy of three years, but Allura and Takashi had already been sharing this apartment above the ‘maker space’ for their business, when he’d met them. Things were going well. Lance hadn’t expected things to run so smoothly with three strong personalities like theirs. They’d had to have lots of conversations in the beginning and there had been a kind of steep learning curve, but they’d figured it out. Their business demanded a lot of attention and Allura was still working full time at her family’s engineering firm, so free time wasn’t something they had in abundance. However, the discordance meant schedules that allowed for regular one-on-one time, something that was important.

Usually, when Allura worked late (at either of her jobs); Lance and Takashi would use that time to see movies she had no interest in; or get sushi (which she hated); or just have a quiet night in playing video games or watching television. When Takashi was down in the maker space dealing with the website and correspondence and sculpting; making molds or casting; Lance and Allura would go to aerial yoga (which Takashi thought was ‘weird’); or hit up an open mic night to check out local talent because he was ‘more of a club guy’; or have a ‘couple’s spa day’ because Takashi was still too self conscious about his scars to enjoy that kind of thing. Allura and Takashi would do their stuff together when he was busy- miniature painting night at a nearby comic shop; or go to a hockey game (they were weirdly passionate hockey fans, Lance couldn’t make any sense of it); or go to one of those newly popular ‘escape room’ places.  His job wasn’t as demanding of his time, but he volunteered two evenings a week teaching English to Spanish-speaking immigrants at a nearby community center.

They made sure they carved out time for their trio, too. Sunday morning brunch at the little inn a few blocks from their apartment was sacred time that even ‘con crunch’ didn’t touch. The only times they’d missed it since he’d moved in was when there was some kind of health crisis- and even then, they had homemade brunch instead.

“Keith said you guys are getting new scheduling software or something?” Takashi asked casually.

“Yeah- kind of. Hunk wants to transition to online scheduling, so there’s an app and stuff. He promises that it will be seamless and stress-free, but you know what Keith is like about technology.”

“He’s a pilot,” Allura laughed, “I don’t understand why he is so suspicious of phones and apps and computers, but not of the systems in a plane. It makes little sense!”

“I blame horror movies,” Takashi chuckled, “he went through a real ‘machines turn against their creator’ phase back in high school.”

“You might have a point there, that whole Black Mirror Bandersnatch thing was all he’d talk about for like a solid week.” Lance liked his business partner, he really did. Keith had even been the reason he’d gotten involved with Allura and Takashi in the first place when he’d played matchmaker for his brother. But… just… the guy could be quirky sometimes.

“I TOLD him not to watch that,” he muttered, “but he was all ‘it’s FINE Shiro! I’m not a little kid anymore, movies aren’t real’… and then… he’s weird about a movie for a week.”

“Well, to be fair, everyone I know who watched that thing wouldn’t shut up about it for a week afterwards,” Lance laughed.

“He has a point- the Holts were in an UPROAR about it at work,” Allura chimed in, “it was… challenging… but somehow; it gave Colleen a great idea for carbon scrubbing bioluminescent security lighting. So, I will not complain.”

“How did-”

“I’ve never claimed to understand how her mind works! I am just grateful that it works for US,” Allura laughed, popping the last bite of her breakfast into her mouth with a grin. “I need to go get dressed, thank you for breakfast, love… and don’t dawdle too much for your shower, hun. You’ve got that appointment this morning.”

“How do you eat so fast?” Lance muttered, but she just grinned and polished off her tea. This time he got the kiss on the cheek and Takashi got the peck on the lips, along with a stern finger wag before she rushed off to the bedroom.

Takashi groaned, “I’d forgotten about that.”

“Physical therapy is important,” Lance chided, “ESPECIALLY if you want to get into that study with the new prosthetics. Dr. Ooolz-”

“Dr. Ulaz, babe.”

“Right, Dr. Ulaz, weird name, but anyway he said you were a prime candidate but that all participants had to have a record of…”

“Excellent adherence to post-fitting physical therapy regimes,” they finished together.

“You’re right. I know you’re right, it’s just that things are so busy right now…”

“Mmmhmm… and I’m not going to weigh in on that, because you’ve already heard my opinion. Soooo… this is me, NOT weighing in with the obvious solution to your hectic work schedule. See? Just me being a loving, supportive boyfriend.”

“Uh-huh,” he smiled, sipping his tea, “duly noted.”

“Good,” Lance grinned, “share the note with our girlfriend, will you?”

Takashi laughed, his dark eyes sparkling, “you are incorrigible.”

“Kashi! You will be late,” Allura sing-songed from the bedroom, “shower! Lancey? Have you seen my lab coat?”

“It’s hanging on the back of the door,” Lance called back. ‘Not it’s not, I already looked,’ he and Takashi mouthed in unison.

“Not it’s not, I already looked,” she answered. Takashi held up his hand counting down from five on his fingers.

“Nevermind! I found it!” Allura called just as he was curling the last finger, “it was hanging on the back of the door.”

The men exchanged a look, laughing softly. “She was right though, you will be late if you don’t hop in the shower now, viejo.”

“Don’t call me that,” Takashi scolded playfully, “I’m not an old man!”

“Keith calls you old man all the time,” Lance pointed out, smirking as he collected the dishes, “and he’s a year older than I am.”

“Keith’s an ass and my kid brother. You don’t get to call me old.”

“Fine,” he relented, leaning over the island to kiss him softly, “go shower, mi amor. Start your day.”

“Better.” The smile he gave him made his heart skip a beat. Gorgeous. Both of them were drop-dead gorgeous and Lance didn’t think he would ever get used to it.

Allura came bustling out of the bedroom, twisting her hair into a bun, “I’m not sure what time I will finish up at the office and then…”

“… and then you guys have a backlog of orders. I know, mi luna, I do,” he caught her around the waist and pressed a little kiss to her throat so he didn’t mess up her lipstick. “I’ll probably head out for a few rounds of pool with Hunk and Keith after work. Unless you guys need help with packing stuff up for shipping?”

“Not today, darling. We’re doing a big shipment at the end of the week though, so tomorrow and Thursday we’ll be packing stuff up.”

“I’ll be there with my tape gun,” he said with a grin.

“It won’t always be this crazy,” she sighed.

“Yes,” he laughed, “it will, but I love this crazy. So, it’s okay. I have my crazy times with work.”

“Spring break,” she laughed.

“Mmmhmm.. Spring break… AND tax season… AND back to school…” He met her gaze, his expression serious, “I grumble, but I DO understand. The Princess and The Paladin is you guys’ baby. Chutes and Lions is mine and Keith’s.”

“So… I guess I’ll see you sometime tonight, then. I’ve got to get moving. I have a meeting…” She grabbed her briefcase, and he handed her her lunch, which made her smile, “I love you, you know that, right?”

“Always,” he promised, “and I love you, too. Don’t forget to text him when you get there safe and sound.”

“Never!” They all had their things. Lance needed to know that no matter what- no matter how busy they got, no matter how bad the argument- if they were home, they would ALWAYS sleep in the same bed. Allura needed to HEAR them say they understood the demands on her time were about her career. Takashi needed to know that they’d arrived safely at their destination. He didn’t really care WHERE they were; just that they got there, incident-free. It wasn’t about controlling each other, but peace of mind, and it was easy enough to accommodate one another.

She blew him a kiss as she headed out the door and he smiled. She was always such a whirlwind of energy at home. He’d seen her at work and it was jarring how different she could be. Calm, focused, steady, and professional. Her coworkers would likely never believe that she had a penchant for starting food fights; or was so competitive at board games she once flipped the coffee table when she realized she could not pull off what she needed to to win. She’d been horrified at herself when she realized what she’d done, but he and Takashi had thought it was hilarious.

He wrote a note for Takashi, and pulled on his sneakers, taking advantage of his day’s late start to get a run in before he went to work. He’d probably be back before Takashi left, but he didn’t want to worry him; and just in case they missed each other, he wanted to make sure his boyfriend started his day with a proper goodbye and ‘I love you’.

* * * *

As a general rule, Lance tried to avoid driving. He preferred to walk or take the bus when he could, but Chutes and Lions needed a private airstrip which meant it had to be on the outskirts of the city. Buses ran to it, but it was a long, inconvenient commute, so he took his car. Some days he would carpool with Keith and they’d spend the time talking shop or reminiscing about the crappy jobs they’d had before they could open their own business.

Humming happily to himself as he parked behind the building, Lance grabbed his gear and headed inside. “I come bearing Starbucks,” he announced to Hunk and Keith, then sent Takashi a quick string of his usual emojis: plane, thumbs up, rainbow, heart, kissy face. It was the thought that counted, after all, and he knew his boyfriend would get it.

“You’re a saint,” Hunk gushed, “the server crashed and I’ve been pulling things apart trying to figure why since I got here.”

“That sounds… expensive…”

“I already ruled out the most expensive causes,” Hunk assured him. “Narrowed it down to a few things I can handle myself… so it just costs us time.”

“We’d be lost without you, man, seriously.” Hunk had been his friend since middle school and between his computer smarts and mechanic skills he had saved them a small fortune. He didn’t know it yet but once they’d paid off the start-up loan, he and Keith were signing over ⅓ ownership to him. Neither of them wanted to saddle him with a share of their debt, but he’d more than earned equal status… and three owners felt RIGHT.

Good things came in threes. Cliché or not, Lance believed that with his whole heart. Finding love with Takashi and Allura had meant a happy and solid home for the three of them. It had been Takashi’s third surgery after his accident that had brought him out of danger and onto the road to recovery. He, Keith, and Hunk worked amazingly well in business and were unshakeable friends. He’d passed his flight test and officially become a pilot on March third- 03/03. Someday, he was planning to be the proud father to three kids. He was rapidly approaching his third anniversary of living with his boyfriend and his girlfriend. Heck, Tuesday was his favorite day of the week! Three was his lucky number. It just was.

“Oh, hey! You’re here,” Keith waved at him as he walked the last of the students to the door. Lance waited as they made small talk for a moment and reflected idly on how good Keith had gotten at squelching his impulse to shut down any conversation that wasn’t focused on ‘something pertinent’ since they’d met back in flight school. At some point, he’d realized that chit chat helped put people at ease… which was kind of important if you wanted them to give you money so they could jump out of your plane. Within minutes, the door chimed leaving only the employees there. “Coffee?” he held up the Starbucks and waved it gently.

“Have you ever known me to turn down coffee?” Keith chuckled, accepting the mug. “Hunk tell you about the computers?”

“The computers are fine, Keith- it’s the SERVER that’s down,” Hunk muttered in exasperation.

“I thought the server WAS a computer?” Confusion and frustration drew Keith’s brows down and Lance shook his head. Keith was a smart guy, but his distrust of tech created a weird block for understanding it. If it wasn’t somehow connected to piloting, Keith was only interested in how to turn it off and on and how to make it do the thing it was supposed to do.

“It’s an all squares are rectangles kind of thing,” Lance said, as they headed to his office. “Hey- you wanna play pool or something after work?”

“Lemme guess, ‘con crunch’ and you are sick of having the apartment to yourself for the night?”

“Con crunch implies it eventually uncrunches, Keith. It doesn’t. It is permanently crunched. Which is… you know… fine… but, yeah, getting sick of my own company and those same old walls.”

“You’ve been way more zen about the whole workaholic artistic geeks situation since you went to that yoga thing with your wifey the month before last.”

“I’ve just realized that they are who they are and they’ve always been this passionate about their business and I LOVE that they are passionate about their business, so,” he shrugged, “I still want them to hire someone, but I get why they are reluctant. It’s THEIR thing, I get it. I didn’t make that connection before. Also- that yoga thing was… uh… tantric… so, you know. Tons of stress relief.”

“Nice… but sorry, man. I can’t help you stave off cabin fever. I have a date tonight,” he smirked.

“Like, an ACTUAL date? Or a Romelle date?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well, it SHOULD,” Lance laughed, “because last time I checked, you were gay and so was she… sooooo… a Romelle date is like, the anti-date.”

“It’s an actual date,” Keith said, “courtesy of Romelle, actually. A friend of this girl she likes… and before you ask, no, it’s not a double date.”

“What’s he like?”

“I don’t know much,” he pulled out his phone and tapped at the screen. “We’ve texted back and forth a bit. He’s into movies, brews his own beer- but isn’t obnoxious about how hoppy the IPA is or whatever, races cars… seems pretty laid back… annnnd… he looks… like… that…”

The image on the screen when Keith turned his phone around made Lance’s eyebrow nearly touch his hair line. “Jesus! How the hell does Romelle FIND these people? That selfie looks like the cover of Men’s Health Magazine!”

Shaking his head, Keith shrugged, “beats me, but I am NOT about to complain about the beautiful people that flock to my lesbi-bestie. So yeah… pool with you sounds like fun and all, but…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He dropped his messenger bag onto the desk and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the hook on the back of the door. “I’ll probably just go for a swim or something. How was class?”

“Good. No assholes, so that helps. Even better? All the checks cleared.”

“All words I like to hear,” Lance laughed. “But, I need to go over the quarterlies and figure out if the new tax law changes affect us.”

“Ugh… THOSE words make me want to gut myself. I have no clue how you deal with the finances without tearing your hair out! I will GLADLY stick to engines and flying and throwing people out of a plane!”

“I like the math of money. It’s interesting.” Business and accounting had been his initial choice for education, then he’d GONE skydiving with a girl he was dating… and while the relationship had been a disaster, he’d fallen in love with skydiving.  He’d had to work his tail off to manage his degree, plus flight school, PLUS getting the flight hours to get his pilot’s license. Flight school had been where he’d met Keith, who had convinced him to get to know Takashi and Allura… so in all honesty, he was pretty grateful to Nyma for setting him on that path.

“Sure. If you say so. I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to go repack all the chutes.”

Lance fell into an easy rhythm with his work, pouring over the changes to the tax laws that would be coming into effect soon. They had an external accountant, but he prided himself on at least knowing the broad strokes of the financial side of their business- he’d seen far too many young businesses flounder and fail because of poor money management and he refused to see Chutes and Lions end up like that. If they failed, it wouldn’t be because of accounting errors.

Before he knew it, Hunk was popping in to remind him to eat- which saved him from being the hypocrite that harped on his SOs for something he did himself. Stretching his legs wasn’t a bad idea either, so he actually took the time to go to the little staff kitchenette and heat his lunch rather than just eat it cold at his desk. 

“Smells good in here,” Hunk said from the doorway, “Keith mentioned something about you wanting a pool game later?”

“My arroz congri always gets your attention,” he laughed, pulling down a bowl and spooning some of his lunch into it for Hunk- he’d packed extra because he knew this would happen.

“That’s because your arroz congri tastes just like your mother’s and I have ALWAYS loved it- even though neither of you will share the recipe!”

“I can’t! Mi Abuelita would throw chanclas from beyond the grave!”

“I know, I know,” sighed Hunk, accepting the proffered bowl, “but at least you share!”

He snorted a laugh, shaking his head, “yeah dude, I’m real good at sharing.”

Hunk blinked at him, cheeks coloring when he connected the other aspects of Lance’s life that relied on his willingness to share in order to WORK. “Ohmigod! I didn’t- Damn it… eventually this will stop tripping me up. I promise.”

“It’s okay, man. Really,” Lance laughed, “I’m just in a good mood and it struck me as funny.”

“As long as you know I don’t have a problem with Shiro and Allura,” he sighed, relaxing, “so… Keith mentioned you wanted to get out of the apartment tonight?”

He leaned against the counter and dug into his lunch, nodding. “Yeah, I was thinking pool or darts or something? Just like, a chill night, a couple of beers kind of deal.”

“Yeah- sounds good. I’ll need the break after fighting with the server all day.”

“Lance? Oh good, there you are.” Keith pushed a hand through his hair, “I just got off the phone with my brother… Listen- everyone is fine… but you need to head home...”

“What? Why? Did something come up at Takashi’s appointment? Oh God, does he need another surgery?” Panic roiled through him, making his chest clench. The last time Keith had told him he needed to ‘head home’ had been when things had gone wrong after Takashi’s accident.

“Lance! Everyone is FINE. I promise.” Keith gripped his shoulders and shook him slightly, “no one is hurt. Shiro is fine. I was just talking to him. He’s fine, okay?”

He nodded, “why didn’t he call me? Where’s Allura?”

“He did- you left your phone in your office, then he called me. Allura is home. She’s fine, too. It’s a slow day. You don’t need to be here. You should go home. Trust me,” he broke into a big smile, “you REALLY WANT to go home. Okay?”

* * * *

The drive home was a blur. Auto-pilot. He remembered reading about how the human brain did that. Familiar routes become a kind of muscle memory and as long as nothing out of the ordinary happened, you could slip into a state of mind similar to hypnosis. By the time he was unlocking the apartment door, he’d pretty much figured out what was going on. It had to be the study with Dr. Ulaz. It was the only NOT terrible thing he could think of that would warrant both him AND Allura leaving work early. It meant that Takashi would take part in innovative research on new prosthetic designs that could revolutionize life for amputees. Getting into that study had been a dream and a goal of his since the very first time someone had mentioned it, and he’d had an appointment with Dr. Ulaz this morning. That HAD to be it!

“I’m hooome!” he called as he stepped into the apartment, “I think I know what all the- what??” He’d been expecting the over-the-top happy faces of Allura and Takashi to greet him. He had NOT been expecting the two OTHER people standing in his living room. “What’s going on?”

“Lancey,” Allura cooed, her hands held behind her back. “We have introductions to make. Three, specifically.”

“Introductions?” They’d confused him, “but- I already KNOW Pidge and Matt- hi guys, by the way.”

“Sure, you know Matt and Pidge: friends of ours and occasional members of our trivia night team,” agreed Takashi, “but you haven’t met- the newest employees of The Princess and the Paladin! Digital design and CAD expert Katie Holt; who will coordinate with Allura on the techy side of things. FX artist Matt Holt; who will help me get my crap done between nine am and five pm Monday to Friday with no more than two late nights a week during crunch times.”

“Are you serious?”

“We are completely serious,” Allura promised.

“Guys, this is awesome… but, PLEASE tell me this isn’t because of me…” He turned to Matt and Pidge, “sorry, this is probably awkward for you guys.”

Matt laughed, and Pidge waved him off, “I just spent six months in a cramped dorm filled with four passive aggressive lesbians- I’m immune to awkward now.”

“We actually have to be heading out, we just stuck around because Shiro was so keen on re-introducing us.” Matt rolled his eyes, but it was with the affection of a long friendship. “You know what he’s like when he decides something would be cute.”

“I do,” Lance answered, shooting his boyfriend an affectionate smile, because he loved that dorky streak. It was adorable, and without it he would never have been able to get past his initial nervousness around Keith’s far-too-good-looking-to-be-real brother enough to get to know him as an actual person in the first place.  He clasped Matt’s hand and brought him in for a bro-hug, “congrats, man.” Pidge got a high five and a hip-bump, something they’d been doing so long he didn’t even remember how it had started. “You, too, gremlin! Welcome to the P&P family. I’m looking forward to hanging out with you guys on packing and shipping nights.”

The Holt siblings said quick goodbyes to the others and ducked out. Just like that, he was alone with his boyfriend and girlfriend, “please tell me you didn’t so this because I’m a nag!”

“You are not a nag!” insisted Takashi, “I hate when you call yourself that. You give us your opinion from your perspective, and you do it respectfully.”

“Exactly, and once you say your piece, you step back and trust our decisions. Neither of us have EVER felt you were trying to MAKE us do anything!” Allura leaned into Takashi’s side and grinned up at him, “he’s been so focused on making sure we made our decisions for the right reasons that he hasn’t even noticed.”

Takashi grinned back at her, “I know. It’s sweet.”

Lance narrowed his eyes, playfully irritated, “stop talking about me like I’m not here. What haven’t I noticed?” He glanced around the apartment, in case there was like, cake or champagne or something, but everything looked like he’d left it that morning.

“You’ll get it,” his boyfriend assured him. “Just think about everything that’s happened since you got here.”

“I got home, you made a dorky joke about introducing me to people I already know, the two of them left… wait… the TWO of them left. You said three introductions, right? I’m remembering that right, aren’t I?” They nodded. Allura looked like she was about to burst out of her skin with excitement. “Guys? Did you get a kitten?” He’d been talking about wanting a cat for the better part of a year, but they’d always decided that it was unfair to get a pet when they all kept such long hours. But now that they would be home more…

Takashi laughed, “no, babe. Good guess though.”

“Oh, no. I can’t have a cat,” Allura said, which was odd, because she’d never made that point before and she seemed way too happy about not being able to have a pet she’d previously said she’d wanted. 

“Since when?” he asked.

“Remember how I have to have an annual physical to keep the company’s insurance coverage?”

“Yeah, did they find out you are allergic to cats or something?”

“Something,” chuckled Takashi, “definitely something.”

“Shh,” Allura hissed, elbowing him lightly, “don’t wreck this.” She stepped closer to Lance, “one last introduction, okay?”

“Sure.” None of this was making much sense, but he trusted them, so he’d play along. “Who am I meeting?”

She pressed a piece of paper into his hand, “meeting might be a little strong a word… more like… finding out about…”

He looked down at the paper. It was some kind of printed image. Mostly black, with a cone of white surrounding a weird little blob. For a second, it looked like nothing. Then it looked familiar. He glanced at Allura’s face, alight with happy excitement, and over at Takashi who looked weirdly smug and proud… and like he thought this entire thing was hilarious. No. 

No way.

“Mi luna? Mi amor?”

“Don’t look at me,” Takashi held up his hand, shaking his head, a HUGE smile on his face. “This is all on you.”

“What?” He looked down again, staring at the image that was starting to make sense.

“The yoga retreat. Just the two of us,” Allura whispered, tapping the paper, “it was six weeks ago, add two more, to get to my last…”

“Eight weeks,” he interrupted, “you’re?… WE’RE?”

“That’s your baby,” she breathed, “that’s the last introduction. Our baby. We’re having a baby.”

“We’re going to be parents!” crowed Takashi, closing the distance between them to pull them both into a one-armed hug.

“Oh my God,” breathed Lance still processing the information. “Oh, my GOD! ALLURA! A BABY! THIS IS AMAZING!” His arms wrapped around them both and he leaned in to kiss his girlfriend, resting his forehead against hers when their lips parted. “I love you. You’re amazing. This is the best news!”

“Told’ya he’d be thrilled,” whispered Takashi, “you were nervous over nothing!”

“Pardon me! There are plenty of superb reasons to be nervous! I know we’d talked about this… down the road… but you’re happy? Truly?”

“I’m sorry- was I not clear enough?” Lance laughed, “yes! I’m happy! I’m overjoyed! You’re okay, right? Everything is okay with…” He smiled so big he could barely talk, “with the baby?”

“I’m fine… better than fine. I’m- we’re perfect,” she said, happy tears spilling from her eyes. “I haven’t really even had any symptoms… I feel great.”

“Yoga baby… you guys made a super chill, zen little yoga baby.”

“Pretty sure that’s not… how it works, mi amor. Oh my God, I have to tell Keith!”

“Ummm… I might have already done that,” Takashi had the decency to look chagrined, “I didn’t mean to- but when I was trying to assure him that everyone was fine… it kind of… slipped out. I’m excited! Brother trumps best friend anyway!”

“You’re telling me that Keith knew I am going to be a Dad before I did?”

He cringed, “yes?”

“You know what? Too happy to even care! I’m going to be a DAD! I have to tell HUNK!”

“Yes,” Allura nodded, “you tell Hunk. I’ll tell Coran, and then we will celebrate… umm… we have to find a new way to celebrate- I can’t have sushi or champagne.”

“How about we go to that new ramen place over on Oak St?” 

“Ooh, yeah, Hunk was raving about that spot.” He untangled himself from them and padded over to the kitchen. “Maybe banana splits from Cone Heads afterwards?”

“Ohhhh! I haven’t had Cone Heads in forever,” Allura sighed, “do you think they still have that black currant ice cream? That was so good!”

“So, we have a plan, then?” Takashi asked, “ramen and ice cream? I mean, it’s a kind of strange combo… but so are we…”

“It’s up to Allura, but that sounds good to me.” Having found what he was looking for he returned to the others, “here, sweetheart, hold these for me so I can grab a picture, okay?”

“Lance! What in the world…”

“This is how I wanna tell Hunk,” he laughed, “trust me, he’ll get it right away. Just smile, gorgeous!”

She shook her head, but she indulged him, smiling as he snapped the picture and sent it along with a message calling off their plans to play pool.

Takashi laughed, “I get it. Pickles and ice cream. Cute.”

“Oh!” she laughed, “I didn’t even think of that until you said it out loud! Send me that picture! Coran will love it!”

He did as she asked and Takashi returned the food. Smiling at her, he stepped closer, his fingers brushing low on her belly. She paused, meeting his eyes and returning his smile. Warm fingers covered his, pressing his hand flat against her abdomen. “Doesn’t feel real, huh?” she whispered.

“Feels like a dream,” he answered, “you’re happy?”

“I’m thrilled,” her smile was… just… unreal. “Takashi squealed.”

“I did NOT!” He argued, “I… uh… cheered.”

Lance giggled, “he totally squealed.”

She nodded, laughing along with him, “it was precious. I’m sorry you missed it.”

“My two favorite people made a baby, and I get to help raise it,” he muttered, “I was excited. I’m STILL excited. Have you two even thought about how beautiful that baby will be? Because I have, and you know what? I’m calling it right now- our baby is the most beautiful baby ever to be born.”

“Get over here, you dork,” Lance teased as Allura reached out to Takashi. She craned up to kiss him sweetly just as Lance’s phone buzzed. Hunk. He opened the message and shook his head. His reply filled the entire screen with keysmashes and then all the way down at the bottom was one line ‘Congrats man, that’s one lucky baby!’ Lance blinked, feeling his eyes fill with happy tears.

Stepping forward, he rejoined the happy, affectionate hug. Head resting against Takashi’s shoulder, one arm wrapped around the taller man’s back and the other curling easily around Allura’s shoulders he felt so full of love and joy it almost hurt. Good things came in threes and in that moment, he held the three most important people in the world in his arms. 

His family.

Three was his lucky number.


End file.
